Highway guard rail



Dec. 13, 1932. w. w. RUSSELL HIGHWAY GUARD RAIL Filed Oct. 12. 1951 IN VEN TOR. W0//ace WfiuJJe/i A TTORN E Y.

Patented D... 13, 1932 uul'rans'rarss PATENT oFFrcE warmer w. absent-.01? msas cm, mssouar menwar euaz en nan.

Application and October 12, 1931. Serial no. 568339.

porting posts and have shock absorbers or resilient members interposed betweenthe this construction it is not fnec'ess'aryto; use spring steel for the rail togive it the needed resilience and prevent its; endifrom being under the force of impact. This spacing from the post also" prevents'the hubs ofthe vehicle wheels from contacting.thepostlthus reducing the possibility of hroknqwheels' or] nner and'outer sockets or pockets 5 and 6 axles, or damaged hubs and hent axles.

Another important feature isthatadi a'c'e'nt ends of the rails are spaced apart [and connected in such a manner thatthe rail sections can be individually .tensioned. .The. connecbe absorbed in part by all of thesectionsas well as permitting the removal and replace- "ment of an individual section wlthOllt'dlSjmantling the entire guard rail. -e i which are illustrated in the. accompanying drawing. wherein: o Fig. 1 is a perspective viewof a guard rail 5 constructed according to my invention.

contact portion of the railand th'e post. By

mashed tightly aga nst the post or deformed.

tions also permit the force of the impact to Another important feature --'s' that. the ad 'acent ends of the rails are'ro'unded' so that no? sharp pockets are present; This permitsa vehicle to slide alongthefa ces of therails without becoming hung up in the space he;

' because: of the continuation in part .of' my applicat on for ,highwav'guard rail, filed the sections.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged'fragmental top plan view of a portion of. the rail with parts broken, away and parts in section, showing the manner of connecting the ends of the rail together and of securing the sections to supper s.1 1

Fig. 3 is a fragmental-disassembled perspective view of a section end and its associated parts.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental top plan view of a pair of rail section ends showing a modified form of tensioning means. Fig. 5 1s a similar v'ew showing a modified fform'of shock absorber.

Fig. 6 isa similar v1ew showing a modified I form" of rail section end.

Referring to the drawing in detail: 1 represents a highway,guard;,.rail which is composed of a number-of rail sections 2 which. are preferably strips of sheet metal I l'llllVlDg the required tensile strength. At the 1 ends of each section are reversely curved portions Band 4.:Eorming laterally extending facing: in opposite directions, respectively.

.' The end of the curved portion 4 is bentoutwardly, forming a flange 7 which has boltreceiving openings 8. h

- The curved portion 3 is provided with vertically aligned openings 9 through which ten sion means,to explained later, extend, ,An arcuate resilient shock absorberor meme.

ber 10 is shaped to fit snugly in the pocket .5,

Sandis provided with openings 11 so +9, 3 tioned and spaced as to register with the open- 5 when the guard railis being assembled,

and the shock absorber is preferably of a leng he'qua'l to the width of the rail sections.;-

A thrust bar 12, having openings 13 which register with the openings 9 and 11, is preferably placed in the shock absorber 10 so as to distribute strains throughout the width of:

The curved portions vided with openings 14 for the passageof securing means 15 so that theend sectionscan be secured to a support. 1

In erecting a guard ail havingthe sections formed as just described, supports 16, preferably wood, are first positioned at the 4 mayalso be. b5 2 the tensioning bolts and through the shock absorber 26, as this ,would cause a rail sections.

proper spacing. The rail sections are then placed in position with the supports 15 in the pockets 6 and bolts 17 passed through the openings 8. The shock absorbers 10 and bars 12 are placed in position and tension bolts 18 passed through the openings 9 of adjacent sections and the openings 11 and 13 of the shock absorbers 10 and bars 12, respectively; this will secure the rail sections to the intermediate supports. The outer ends of the end sections may be secured to the end supports by inserting the securing means 15 through the openings 14 and into the support.

A substantially V-sha ed member or clevis 19 has its ends passed through the openings 9 of the outermost sections and also through the shock absorber 10 and bar 12, located in the sockets 5 of the end members and held therein by means of nuts 20. The eye 21 of a guy or tension rod 22 is located in the crotch of the member 19, and the opposite end of the rod 22 is secured to an earth anchor or dead man. The guy rod 22 is preferably made of two sections connected by a turnbuckle 23 so that it can be shortened and the entire guard rail be placed under an initial tension, the tension on the rail sections being regulated by the bolts 18.

Should the curved portions 3 of adjacent sections contact, they can readily be separated by loosening the bolts 18 and tightening up on the bolts 17.

In Fig. 4, I have disclosed a resilient ten sioning device in which the bolt 24, which connects adjacent sections, is made longer, and a resilient sleeve such as a spring 25 is placed on the bolt and bears against the plates 12. By means of thisresilient tensioning device, some of the impact between a vehicle and a rail section is absorbed by the sleeve 25 and the shock absorber proportionately relieved of such shock.

The sleeves 25 may also be placed on the ends of the members 19 and the entire guard rail rendered more resilient.

In Fig. 5 I have shown the shock absorber 26 as being made of a block of rubber or similar resilent material fitted into the socket 5. In this construction the arcuate shock absorber 10 is eliminated, and the use of this 1 type of shock absorber also serves to make a resilient tensioning device and takes the place of the sleeves 25 shown in F ig. 4. Plates 27 are used in connection with this type of shock absorber to prevent theheads and nuts on 28 from working into slacking, of the tension" on the Fi 6 shows a modified rail sec ti on in which the ends of a rail section 29 are laterally curved as at 30 to form a socket for the shock absorber. The curved portions are also provided with openings 31 through which securing members 32 pass for securing the rail sections,

the sections to supports 33. Any of the shock absorbers and tensioning devices previously described may be used with this modified form of construction.

It will be noted that the rail sections are arranged in spaced longitudinal alignment with each other so that while the rail can be initially tensioned by the guy rods, each section can be individually tensioned by the bolts connecting adjacent sections together.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a highway guard including spaced supports and metallic rail sections, means for connecting the sections to each other and to the supports including reversely curved ends on the rail sections forming laterally extending inner and outer curved portions, means for clamping the outer portions on the supports, and means for connecting the inner portions of adjacent sections.

2. In a highway guard including spaced supports and metallic rail sections, means for connecting the sections to each other and to the supports including reversely curved ends on the rail sections forming laterally extending inner and outer curved portions, means for clamping the outer portions in embraced condition on the supports, and adjustable means for connecting the inner portions of adjacent sections. I

3. In a highway guard including spaced supports and metallic rail sections, means for connecting the sections to each other and to the supports including reversely curved ends on the rail sections forming laterally extending inner and outer socket portions, means for securin the outer portions to the supports, ShOCl K absorbers located in the inner socket portions, and tensionin means extendedthrough the shock absor ers and inner portions of adjacent sections for connecting the sections. 4. In a highway guard including spaced supports and metallic rail sections, means for supports including curved end portions on the rail section s, curved portions members means for securing'the to the supports, resilient adjacent the curved portions, and

-means extended through the resilient members and said curved portions for connecting adjacent sections.

5. In a highway guard including spaced supports and metallic rail sections, means for connecting the sections end to end and to the supports including curved end portions on means for securing the I curved .portions to the supports resilient shock absorbers seated in the curved portions, thrust bars adjacent the shock absorbers, and tensioning means extended through the thrust bars, shock absorbers and curved portions for connecting adjacent sections.

-6. In a highway guard including spaced 

